The invention relates to a device for administering liquids to a patient, the device comprising an adminstering part and a fastening part. The administering part, through which the liquid can flow, is, for example, a cannula stud, a catheter stud or a filter. The adminstering part is fastened by the fastening part, for example, to the skin of the patient, his clothes, a patient""s bed, an infusion stand or other objects.
Normally administering parts are fastened to a patient""s body by means of adhesive plaster with the adhesive plaster strips extending over the administering part. Particularly in the case of filters such indiscriminate glueing-over results in the filter not being capable of being inspected any more. To check whether the filter is fouled it is necessary to remove the adhesive plaster strips from the skin. In particular when different medicines are administered to the patient via one and the same access it is important to frequently check the filter since different medicines may interreact and crystallize. This may result in the filter becoming blocked. Filters glued over with adhesive plaster do not allow the filter to be continuously observed so that they are concealed from the physician""s control to a large extent. Further, in the case of infusions filters are used for filtering bacteria and particles over a long period and must therefore be replaced at certain intervals.
Short catheters which are fastened near the puncture site on the surface of the skin partly comprise wing-shaped studs made of plastic material. To fasten the short catheters adhesive plaster strips are stuck over the wing-shaped studs.
This type of fastening filters or catheters to a patient""s skin limits the freedom of movement of the patient and may lead to injuries when the patient moves.
From U.S. Pat. No. 5,456,671 fastening of a catheter with an adhesive plaster to a patient""s skin is known. For this purpose the adhesive plaster comprises a first coupling part having a longitudinal slot into which the catheter can be inserted. Although the catheter can be detached from the coupling part without the adhesive plaster being removed from the patient""s skin the catheter is retained in the coupling part so that the freedom of movement of the patient continues to be considerably limited.
It is the object of the invention to create a device for administering liquids to a patient, which is adapted to be fastened to the patient""s body or any other carrier in a simple way, which can be easily and rapidly detached and limits the patient""s freedom of movement to the smallest extent possible.
The administering part is fixed by means of a fastening part executed as adhesive plaster with the fastening part comprising a first coupling part releasably engaging with a second coupling part provided on the administering part. According to the invention one of the two coupling parts is configured as plug-in pin and the other coupling part as round insertion opening. Owing to the configuration of the coupling parts according to the invention the administering part can be rotated relatively to the adhesive plaster. This increases the patient""s freedom of movement and reduces the danger of injuries during movement. Rotatability of the administering part prevents, for example, a needle inserted into a vein from piercing through the vein when the patient moves.
The adhesive plaster is stuck on the surface of the skin or the surface of an object. The administering part can be fixed to and detached from the fastening part in a simple way by means of the coupling parts. Thus it is not necessary that adhesive plaster strips extend over the administering part and cover it when the administering part is fastened. If the administering part is a filter, said filter can be easily inspected. Since the filter is detachably connected with the fastening part via coupling parts, the filter may be rapidly and easily taken off the fastening part for the purpose of inspecting the bottom side of the filter or exchanging the filter without the fastening part having to be removed from the surface of the patient""s skin or the surface of an object.
The coupling parts may be configured such that the administering part is detachably fixed by clamping one of the two administering parts to the other administering part. Alternatively, the coupling parts may be provided with a locking pin or similar such that releasing the connection is possible only be unlocking the coupling parts.
Preferably the two coupling parts are configured as releasable snap elements. At least one of the two snap elements is at least partly elastic and snaps, in assembled condition, the mating coupling part. To release the snap connection the snap elements may be configured such that the elastic part of one snap element must be pushed back by hand before the administering part can be removed from the adhesive plaster. Preferably the snap elements are configured such that the administering part can be detached by being taken off the snap element of the adhesive plaster. For this purpose the elastic part of the snap element may be arcuate such that the elastic part of the snap element is automatically pushed back when the administering part is taken off. When the snap elements are configured in such a way it is not necessary to push back by hand the elastic part of one of the snap elements.
To allow the patient to freely move to a large extent, the plug-in pin comprises an at least partly spherical portion. Such a configuration of the plug-in pin does not only allow the administering part to be rotated about the longitudinal axis of the plug-in pin but it can also be tilted relatively to the longitudinal axis. Thus the connection of the plug-in pin with the insertion opening is a ball-and-socket joint.
To allow the adhesive plaster to be made from very thin flexible material so that it adheres even to uneven surfaces the plug-in pin is preferably provided on the plaster and the insertion opening in the administering part. The insertion opening may be configured as pocket hole or through hole.
Hereunder the invention is explained in detail with reference to preferred embodiments and the drawings in which: